Context: In 2007, the Council for Long-Term Development Planning published a document that outlined a vision for the future, known as the Wawasan Brunei 2035 or Brunei Vision 2035. One goal of Wawasan Brunei 2035 is for the country to be recognized through the accomplishments of its highly skilled people, with an education strategy to prepare its youth for an increasingly competitive world. This comes during a time in which Brunei Darussalam’s youth unemployment rate is high (23.1 per cent in 2021).
Implementation of programme/ initiative: Bank Islam Brunei Darussalam (BIBD) hosted the BIBD Youth Empowerment Summit (BIBD YES!) to work towards Wawasan Brunei 2035. BIBD Yes! is an annual summit for youth in Brunei Darussalam. It was held for the third time in 2021, although virtually for the first time, with the theme “Developing Resilient Future Leaders”. The event was curated by the company Curious Minds, with support from the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports, and the Ministry of Education. The event was also sponsored by TOTAL Energies Brunei, Brunei Gas Carrier, Brunei LNG, CIC Environmental Services, Insurans Islam Taib, and Progresif, among others. The summits aim to provide a platform for youth in Brunei Darussalam and the Asia-Pacific region, aged 15 to 25, to come together to learn and inspire each other.
BIBD Yes! 2021 was held over a three-week period in December 2021. It had 180 core participants from the Ministry of Education’s CentrE For The Development of Gifted and Talented Education (EDGE) and 785 independent participants. Core participants were granted the opportunity to deliver group presentations on assigned topics related to the theme, with the mentorship of senior executives from each of the sponsors. In addition, all participants had the opportunity to listen to guest speakers from around the region.
Main challenges: The COVID-19 pandemic greatly affected everyone across Brunei Darussalam, especially the youth population. The pandemic forced students out of their classrooms and worsened youth unemployment rates amidst the country’s current youth unemployment crisis. In this context, young people need support in developing their resilience against the changing world and equipping them with the tools necessary to adapt to it.
Results achieved: Throughout the course of the 2021 summit, 965 participants attended the event. These participants consisted of students from 66 registered institutions, including 20 international participants. There was also an increase in sponsors compared to the previous summit: from 32 sponsors supporting the event in 2020 to 66 in 2021. Many core participants gave feedback indicating that they had acquired good communication skills while planning their respective presentations. The participants also noted key takeaways from the speakers, including tips on effective communication and being true to oneself.
Moving Forward: BIBD can continue to host summits for young people in Brunei Darussalam every year and maintain it as an annual event. It can perpetuate the growth in number of its sponsors, and thus be able to support more students at upcoming summits. As the pandemic comes to an end, the summit can also begin its transition back to being held in-person, to allow for greater interaction between participants and speakers.
Replicability: Many different organizations collaborated to hold this event. BIBD Yes! received support from various government agencies and financial assistance from companies in the private sector. This summit is an example of the great work that can be achieved if the public and private sectors cooperate and target their interventions, with an emphasis on active engagement and the exchange of constructive ideas, in order to support youth to be more ambitious and have brighter futures.
Acknowledgement:
This good practice was kindly prepared by Ms. Mae Jordaine B. Diopenes.
References:
https://www.bibdyes.com/sponsors
https://dailybrunei.com/bibd-youth-empowerment-summit-2021/
https://progresif.com/education-key-driver-for-nations-growth/
http://www.bibd.com.bn/media-centre/annual-reports/
https://borneobulletin.com.bn/moulding-resilient-leaders-of-tomorrow-2/
Project Details
Date: September 16, 2022